UWM Olsztyn G.K. Chestertons Games with IdentitiesActa Neophilologica, X I, 2009107 ISSN 1509-1619
Ewa K ujaws ka-Lis Instytut N eofilolo gii Uniwe rsytet Wa rmi ñsko-Mazu rski
G.K. C HESTERT ONS GA MES WIT H IDENTITIES
Key words : detecti ve sto ry, Ch este rton, identity, inte rtextuality, C at holicism
Gil bert K eit h Ch este rton, the aut hor of detecti ve sto ries featu rin g a C at holic priest, F at her Br own, frequently creates situations where a dou ble identity is a k ey element eit her in the crime itself or in the solution of the crime. Th is write r appea rs to be fascinated wit h the ideas of h avin g diffe rent identities, chan gin g them, creatin g alte rnati ve wo rlds as well as misconceptions that mislead the h uman mind and eye. Th is fascination ta kes di verg ent fo rms in h is sto ries and is manifested thr ou gh v arious de vices, thus ma kin g the dou ble identity one of the r ecu rr in g motifs. Th is article aims to in vesti gate h ow and fo r what pu rposes Ch este rton uses v arious identities in selected sto ries of the F at her Br own cycle. In the fi rst sto ry of the cycle, The Blue Cross , pu blis hed in the v olume The Innocence of Father Brown (1911), Ch este rton int roduces h is two main characte rs: Fat her Br own, a C at holic priest amateu r detecti ve and F lam beau, a thief, late r to eme rg e as a detecti ve. I mmediately, a r eade r is arr ested b y the fact that, unli ke in ot her sto ries typical of the g en re, the prota gonist is not a professional detecti ve, and actually his v ocation as a priest is as impo rtant to h im and as pronounced in the sto ries as h is position as a detecti ve. F at her Br own stands out si gnificantly in a lon g g alle ry of fictional detecti ves, includin g C . A ugustine D upin created b y E dgar A lan P oe, Sh er- loc k Holmes b y S ir Ar thur C onan D oyle or He rcule P oi rot b y Ag at ha Chr istie, to name the mo re impo rtant ones. I f the ot hers are amateu rs, li ke D upin, thei r actual occupa- tions are unimpo rtant (in The Murders in the Rue Morgue D upin in vesti gates a crime to prove the innocence of an accused man and solely fo r h is own satisfaction ; only late r does h e do suc h wo rk fo r financial g ain). I f they are professional detecti ves, li ke Holmes or P oi rot, the focus in the sto ries is h igh li gh ted on this pa rticula r sleut hin g acti vity. F at her Br own is conspicuous in this r espect since h e evidently acts in b ot h capacities in the ma jority of the sto ries: as priest and detecti ve. Th is, of cou rse, influ- 108 Ewa Kujawska- Li s
ences h is intentions and aims: not only is h e inte rested in sol vin g the criminal puzzle, but also, or actually predominately so, in sa vin g yet anot her soul. Th e two identities of F at her Br own are thus openly emp hasised thr ou gh out the sto ries and b ecome a const ructi ve element ; eac h h avin g a specific function, whereas thei r com bination int roduces a no velty to this g en re. Unli ke ot her detecti ves, whose main functions are to sol ve crimes and who use lo gical r easonin g to do so, F at her Br own r eso rts to b ot h lo gic and illumination. I n addition to pu rsuin g a criminal, h e gene rally wants to initiate some positi ve chan ge in the wron gdoe r s conduct and sys- tem of b eliefs. He is conce rned wit h sa vin g the culp rit from punis hment in mo ral te rms consistent wit h the C at holic creed r at her than as r egards the secula r le gal system. Conse quently, unli ke ot her fictional detecti ves, h e is not inte rested in financial g ain, but in disseminatin g C at holicism b y showin g its elemental trut hs. Th us in the openin g sto ry h e provokes the thief usin g the S event h C ommandment Th ou shalt not steal [The Blue Cross , 12 ]; in The Secret Garden r at her than inte rr ogatin g V alentin, the suspected mu rde rer, as a detecti ve mi gh t h ave done to prove h is suspicions, h e must as k h im to confess, and all that [ The Secret Garden , 30 ]; whereas in The Q ueer Feet answe rin g C olonel P ound s q uestion whet her h e cau gh t the criminal, h e confi rms I cau gh t h im, wit h an unseen h oo k and an in visi ble line whic h is lon g enou gh to let him wande r to the ends of the wo rld, and still to br in g h im b ac k wit h a twitc h upon the thr ead [ The Q ueer Feet , 42 ]. Th e C olonel, thin kin g r ationally, is anxious to confine the v illain physically, whereas what is impo rtant fo r the priest is creatin g the spi ritual bond wit h C at holicism whic h would prevent the thief from any misconduct in the futu re. Th us fo r h im the law of G od ta kes precedence over the physical inca rce ration and any h uman-made laws as evidenced in anot her sto ry: Sh all I stop h im ? as ked Flam beau [ ] . No; let h im pass , said F at her Br own [ ] . Let C ain pass b y, fo r h e belon gs to G od [ The E ye of Apollo , 134 ]. S uc h an app roac h is, of cou rse, not to b e found in ot her detecti ve sto ries where once the crime is sol ved, it is only natu ral to accuse, try, con vict and imp rison the felon, if possi ble. Th e notions of confession, sin and r epentance are omnip resent in Ch este rton s sto ries. F at her Br own does not camoufla ge h is doct rine ; h e r efe rs to it explicitly: Ev en the most mu rde rous b lunde rs don t poison life li ke sins [ The Three Tools of Death , 160 ] whic h can b e treated as a motto fo r h is actions and h is inte rnal drivin g fo rce. What h e sets h is h ea rt b y and conse quently h is actions on is the v ery act of confession, and so h e explains to Jo hn B oulnois: Th e little sins are sometimes h arde r to confess than the b ig ones b ut that s why it s so impo rtant to confess them [ The Strange Crime of John Boulnois , 112 ]. I n anot her sto ry h e urg es the suspect: Go on in G od s name, g o on. Th e foulest crime the fiends ever prompted feels li gh te r afte r confession ; and I implo re you to confess [ The E ye of Apollo , 134 ]. Occasionally, howe ver, Ch este rton plays wit h lan gua ge and h e int roduces the idea of confession humo rously. F at her Br own says fo r instance: Iv e g ot to g o b ac k to the D eaf S chool [The Three Tools of Death , 160 ], whic h h e uses as an excuse fo r b ein g una ble to stay fo r the official in qui ry. I t is not the case of h is dis regardin g le gal orde r; it is j ust a diffe rent h ie rarchy of prio rities that h e epitomizes. S ince h e is not a r ep resentati ve G.K. Chestertons Games with Identities 109 of the official line of in vesti gation, h e does not conside r it impo rtant fo r h im to b e in vol ved in it. A t the same time, b y usin g metonymy h e shows h is peculia r sense of humou r and distance to h imself and the way people use lan gua ge. A dditionally, con- fession is also used as a means to ena ble F at her Br own to unde rstand h umanity wit h all its b eautiful, no ble, ugly, and selfis h b ehaviou rs. I t g ives h im some ad vanta ge over culp rits. D iscussin g freely some tric ks used b y criminals wit h F lam beau, h imself a thief at this point, the priest and h is k nowled ge actually shoc k F lam beau: How in blazes do you k now all these h orr ors? cried F lam beau. [ ] O h, b y b ein g a celi bate simpleton, I suppose, h e [F at her Br own ] said. Has it ne ver st ruc k you that a man who does next to not hin g b ut h ea r men s r eal sins is not li kely to b e wholly unawa re of human evil ? [ The Blue Cross , 15 ]. Mo reo ver, the notions of confession and r epentance allow the priest to influence the identities of ot hers. C onsistently wit h h is creed, h e ne ver r enounces a h uman bein g; r at her h e attempts to g uide one to b ecome a b ette r pe rson. He says to F lam beau: I want you to g ive up this life. Th ere is still yout h and h onou r and h umou r in you ; don t fancy they will last in that trade. Men may k eep a so rt of le vel of g ood, b ut no man h as ever b een able to k eep on one le vel of evil [ The Flying Stars , 55 ]. Th e motif of chan gin g identities is thus r ep resented at the le vel of the enti re cycle b y F lam beau. It is not a type of Dr Je kyll Mr Hyde metamo rphosis. F lam beau does not r ep resent the g oodness and evil sepa rately in diffe rent impe rsonations and h e does not chan ge them as h e pleases. R at her h e h as traces of b ot h, j ust li ke any h uman b ein g, and F at her Br own s intention is not to erase this duality of h uman natu re b ut to show that it is possi ble to self-cont rol one s actions. He wants h uman b ein gs to b e conscious of the outcomes of thei r acti vities and to b e able to supp ress ne gati ve patte rns of b ehaviou r. Flam beau epitomizes the mo ral con version. I n the fi rst sto ry of the cycle h e is int ro- duced as a cunnin g criminal whose actions we re r epo rted in daily pape rs since he h ad escaped the conse quences of one ext rao rdina ry crime b y committin g anot her [ The Blue Cross , 1]. Y et the na rr ato r h ints that there may b e a chan ge in vol ved since h e refe rs to F lam beau as a colossus of crime [ The Blue Cross , 1]. Th e metap hor func- tions h ere as a fo res hadowin g of what is to h appen in ot her sto ries of the cycle. I t not only h ints at the ext rao rdina ry h ei gh t of F lam beau b ut, mo re impo rtantly, at h is fate as a criminal. Th e C olossus of Rh odes was dest royed b y a natu ral fo rce and so will b e the doom of any wron gdoe r. S oone r or late r the natu ral law, that is the inte rnal law of one s own conscience, will dest roy one who follows the wron g pat h. Th at r oad g oes down and down , says F at her Br own [ The Flying Stars , 55 ]. Y et the priest sa ves Flam beau b y dest royin g h im as a criminal in orde r to allow h im to b e r esu rr ected as a detecti ve. C onse quently, in late r sto ries of the cycle F lam beau ta kes up a new identi- ty as F at her Br own s friend, thus followin g the patte rn of ot her sto ries in this g en re, where a detecti ve is g ene rally accompanied b y a friend who facilitates h is r econst ruc- tion of the crime. Ch este rton again is inno vati ve, as h e creates a pai r of detecti ves, rat her than a detecti ve and a layman. Th e v ery motif of a dou ble identity r ewo rk ed v ariously in F at her Br own sto ries is also initiated in the plot of the fi rst one. F lam beau the criminal attempts to steal 110 Ewa Kujawska- Li s
a sil ver cross wit h sapp hires ca rr ied b y F at her Br own b y pretendin g to b e a priest himself. Th is is, of cou rse, a typical tric k. A fte r all, thie ves do not g o around announc- in g that they are steale rs. Th ey do g ene rally r eso rt to some so rt of g ame intended to hide thei r true identity and intentions. Y et in F at her Br own sto ries this type of decep- tion is not a monotonous de vice. I t is shown in many v ariations. Ev en F at her Br own himself pretends to b e someone else. A lt hou gh , as h e admits, h e suspected F lam beau from thei r fi rst encounte r, thr ou gh out thei r trip h e simulates b ein g a totally igno rant simpleton and, at the same time, sli gh tly unsta ble emotionally. Th us h e misleads the thief b y ma kin g h im b elie ve the priest is someone who can b e easily manipulated. Th is game b ased on cheatin g eac h ot her is r ep resented in the sto ry also physically at the le vel of obj ects. Th us V alentin, the policeman, finds salt in the su gar b owl in a r estau- rant and misplaced placa rds at the gr een gr oce r s (bot h are the r esult of F at her Br own s actions). A lso the br own pa rcel (t he colou r of the pac kin g pape r is not necessa rily coincidental it definitely co rr esponds wit h the priest s name) wit h the cross is switc hed twice, once b y the fa ke priest attemptin g to steal it and then b y the r eal priest who wants to k eep it safe. Th is cle ver usa ge of the misplaced obj ects only st ren gthens the conceptu- al le vel of the sto ries. Tr ut h is always safe ; thus, the true br own pa rcel is safely deposited wit h the police and the true priest Br own exposes the imposto r. Th e k ey to sol vin g the puzzle is F at her Br own s k nowled ge of h umanity as well as the sham of the lie. Th e impe rsonato r is una ble to tric k the priest b y pretendin g to b e one h imself since h e is simply too igno rant: You attac ked r eason [ ] I ts b ad theolo gy, explains F at her Br own to the su rprised F lam beau [ The Blue Cross , 15 ]. C onse quently, the openin g of the cycle at v arious le vels int roduces the leadin g motif of playin g wit h identities. A mi rr or ima ge of F lam beau s con version is the chan ge of the policeman into a law br ea ker. Ch este rton is not one-sided. His intention is to demonst rate that the duality of h uman natu re is indeed dest ructi ve if one follows the wron g pat h. Th e Valentin who is featu red in the fi rst sto ry as t he h ead of the P aris police and the most famous in vesti gato r of the wo rld who h ad one of the most powe rful intellects in Europe [ The Blue Cross , 1] is tu rned into a mu rde rer and a suicide in The Secret Garden , the second sto ry of the cycle. V alentin h as a dou ble identity as a lawful policeman and as mad anta gonist of C at holicism. Th e h at red of the Cr oss ta kes prece- dence over the life as a g ua rdian of the orde r and so h e br ea ks the law h imself. Ch este rton in vesti gates a num ber of issues in this sto ry. F irst and fo remost, one who fi gh ts C at holicism must ine vita bly lose, whic h seems to impose a preac hin g function upon the sto ry. B ut h e also shows the tragedy of an h onest man whose sec ret h at red is inflamed daily and who finally snaps, thus providin g some psyc holo gical moti vation fo r the crime. F ollowin g the br utal mu rde r, its concealment and a futile effo rt of escapin g its conse quences, V alentin must face the trut h, k nowin g h is opponent to b e Fat her Br own. E it her out of fea r of conf rontin g the h orr ors of h is sin or out of r epen- tance followin g h is deeds, h e k ills h imself. Ch este rton is not inte rested h ere in a st ream of characte r culminatin g in a tragic h ero. R at her h e emp hasises the ne gati ve attitude to Cat holicism as b ein g the drivin g fo rce in creatin g a dest ructi ve dou ble identity. B y implication, any body who r ebels against, it seems, the only true r eli gion is doomed. G.K. Chestertons Games with Identities 111
Simila rly, any body who is a followe r of a diffe rent r eli gion must also b e ill-fated. Th is issue is in vesti gated in The E ye of Apollo where K alon is the Pr op het of the cult of the sun and a swindle r. His dou ble identity is fo res hadowed b y the catc h phr ase attac hed to h im when h e is int roduced in the sto ry: a fellow callin g h imself K alon (I don t k now what h is name is, except that it can t b e that) [ The E ye of Apollo , 125 ] and late r r epeated as t he man called K alon [ The E ye of Apollo , 128 ]. Kalon in Gr ee k means t he b eautiful or no ble and so is not to b e treated as a r eal name, whic h b y implication si gnifies the false natu re of the man h imself. T ypically fo r Ch este rton, the characte r is g iven a tellin g name. I n this case it r ep resents the opposite of the true natu re of the characte r whic h is to b e decip hered only on the b asis of the hermeneutic analysis of the enti re text. A leade r of a false r eli gion is a sinne r in te rms of C at holicism. Y et b ein g the son of A pollo (t he b eautiful) is j ust a co ver fo r a swin- dle r whose r eal obj ecti ve is to tric k Miss S tacey out of h er money (reversal of t he no ble ). Ch este rton h ere skilfully com bines the criticism of pa gan r ituals as inconsi- stent wit h C at holicism and the r ole-playin g of most wron gdoe rs as a v ehicle fo r com- mittin g a crime. Howe ver, the dou ble identity of Ch este rton s characte rs does not ope rate only on a criminal axis. On nume rous occasions the aut hor in vesti gates the outcomes of h idin g some sec ret featu re, eit her physical or emotional, whic h allows the characte r to fo rm diffe rent identities. P auline S tacey in The E ye of Apollo is seemin gly a st ron g, emanci- pated woman of spit-fi re self-dependence who does not need the assistance of b oy, man or any p rops and plaste rs the docto rs sell [ The E ye of Apollo , 127 ]. Sh e creates the ai r of someone enti rely self- reliant. Howe ver, she h as a sec ret whic h she h ides from almost everyone. Th e trut h is that she is b lind and this tu rns h er into a h elpless creatu re totally dependent on ot hers and thei r plans. Th is h idden identity of someone quite fragile is ta ken ad vanta ge of b y the two pe rsons who k now h er sec ret and who eventually tu rn into criminals h er youn ger siste r and K alon, actin g independently. Th e outcome is tragic P auline dies b ecause of h er own impai rment. Sh e falls into Kalon s trap, i.e., steppin g into an empty lift shaft. Th ere seems again to b e some mo ral teac hin g in vol ved h ere. C oncealin g one s impai rment or impe rfection is dest ruc- ti ve; thus, consistent wit h C at holic preac hin g, one should accept one s failin gs r at her than const ructin g an alte rnati ve identity fo r oneself b ased on a denial of the trut h. Sec rets are ne ver safe and denyin g one s problems always leads to gr aver ones. I t is as if P auline is b ein g punis hed fo r h er own sin. L ivin g a sec ret life equates to li vin g a lie and lyin g is always treated as a sin. Ch este rton, in h is lite rary craft, draws the r eade rs attention to P auline S tacey s sec ret at the lexical le vel. Whene ver h er desc ription appea rs, there is always some attention g iven to h er eyes: Sh e h ad eyes of sta rtlin g br illiancy, b ut it was the br illian- cy of steel r at her than of diamonds , t his br igh t-eyed falcon of a g irl, He r br igh t blac k eyes b lazed wit h abst ract an ger , Sh e as ked if she was expected to wea r wooden le gs or false h ai r or g lass eyes ; and as she spo ke h er eyes spa rk led li ke the te rr ible crystal , Th e sun is not my maste r, and I will open my eyes and sta re at h im whene ver I choose [ The E ye of Apollo , 126 127 ]. I n eac h desc ription a h int is g iven, yet the 112 Ewa Kujawska- Li s
reade r is able to decip her all the clues only afte r F at her Br own s explanation of the manne r in whic h the crime was committed. Th us in the fi rst example the k ey noun is steel , whic h unli ke diamond, would not let any li gh t- ray pass thr ou gh the eye, ma kin g the li gh t r eflect from the eyes as if from a steel su rface, whic h su gg ests blindness. I n the second phr ase, a conceptual pa radox is int roduced: F alcons are r e- nowned fo r thei r exceptional v ision ; yet, P auline s v ision is h ea vily impai red. F alcons are also b irds of prey, whereas it is P auline who b ecomes the prey of h uman predato rs. Th e r eade r is able to gr asp these semantic inte rr elations hips only in connection wit h Fat her Br own s explanations at the end of the sto ry. I nitially, the metap hor is actually misleadin g as if su gg estin g a pe rfect sense of v ision and sharpness on the pa rt of this characte r. I n the third example, the clue is the ad jecti ve a bst ract whic h h ints at the ina bility of P auline s eyes to focus on anyt hin g, and the attention of the r eade r is fo rcefully drawn to the eyes b y the dou ble allite ration in the phr ase. N ext, there is a di rect r efe rence to artificial eyes, followin g the action of stampin g upon h er siste r s eye glasses. Y et again the h int is b lu rr ed b y the addition of ot her obj ects of assistance. Finally, h er proud statement that she could easily sta re at the sun who is not h er maste r sums up P auline s attitude and condition. Only someone who li ves in the da rk b ecause of b ein g b lind can unflinc hin gly sta re at a powe rful sou rce of li gh t wit hout fea r of losin g si gh t. P auline s da rk ness is of a dual natu re: I t is the physical da rk ness and the emotional emptiness whic h fo rce h er into the arms of the tric kste r, the N ew Pr iest of Apollo. Th e theo ry whic h h e disseminates is: t hat if a man we re r eally h ealt hy h e could sta re at the sun and that h is new r eli gion can cu re all physical diseases [ The Eye of Apollo , 125, 126 ]. F at her Br own sums it all up, matte r-of-factly: If a man we re really h ealt hy [ ] h e would not b ot her to sta re at it [ The E ye of Apollo , 125 ], thus emp hasisin g, at the v ery b eginnin g of the sto ry, that anyone who falls prey to the prop het must suffe r from some k ind of ailment. Th e motif of an inte rnal, r at her than physical, ailment whic h leads to the creation of a dou ble identity is in vesti gated in The Three Tools of Death . S ir A aron Ar mst ron g an enti rely ente rtainin g fi gure, was ente rtainin g to the point of b ein g comic ; and popula r in suc h a manne r as to b e almost le genda ry [ The Three Tools of Death , 151 ]. He was an incu rable optimist, or at least this is what h e made the wo rld b elie ve. Th us his outwa rd face was that of a smilin g cherub wit h spa rk lin g spectacles. Howe ver, fo r all h is exte rnal g aiety, h is true identity was q uite the opposite. Th e h appiness, smiles and ext raverted b ehaviou r, that is t he R eli gion of Ch ee rfulness [ The Three Tools of Death , 160 ] we re only a co ver, fo r h e was actually a dep ressed man who suffe red from a suicidal mania, no body k new of. He li ved a dou ble life: puttin g up a me rr y mas k in pu blic and sin kin g into h is dep ression privately. Th e conse quence of the inte rnal st rug- gle was a successful suicide. Initially it is b elie ved that S ir A aron Ar mst ron g was mu rde red and the v iolence of the act is compa red to hea rin g that S unny Jim h ad h an ged h imself ; or that Mr. Pic kwic k h ad died in Hanwell [ The Three Tools of Death , 151 ]. Th e r eade r is provided wit h inte rtextual and ext ratextual clues r at her than metap horical ones. S unny Jim G.K. Chestertons Games with Identities 113 was a comic ca rtoon characte r created in 1902 to promote F orce ce real. One of the rh ymes that accompanied the pictu re was as follows:
Jim D umps was a most unf riendly man, Who li ved h is life on the h ermit plan ; In h is g loomy way h ed g one thr ou gh life, And made the most of woe and st rife ; Till F orce one day was se rv ed to h im Since then they v e called h im Sunny Jim .
Sir A aron Ar mst ron g, when int roduced to the r eade rs is the con verted Sunny Jim , yet what is h idden b ot h from the r eade rs and ot her characte rs in the sto ry is the fact that the traces of the g loomy Jim D umps are v ery v ivid and h ea vily influence the quality of life of the optimist and philant hr opist. A ctually, S ir A aron Ar mst ron g is Sunny Jim on the outside b ut still Jim D umps inside. Mo reo ver, one cannot miss a Ch este rtonian sense of h umou r. S ir A aron Ar mst ron g appa rently used to h ave a Dr in k problem . Y et in h is dep ressed condition he fell b ac k on that dram-d rin kin g he h ad abandoned lon g ago [ The Three Tools of Death , 160 ]. I t is almost ine vita ble to associate the name of the ad vertised ce real wit h drin kin g. Once h e se rv es F orce, that is whis key, to h imself h e b ecomes acutely awa re of h is problems: But there is this horr or about alco holism in a since re teetotalle r: that h e pictu res and expects that psyc holo gical infe rno from whic h h e h as wa rned ot hers [ The Three Tools of Death , 160 ]. Th e F orce is thus all b ut sham. Th e second inte rtextual r efe rence compa res the absu rdity of S ir A aron Ar m- st ron g s deat h to the would- be deat h of one of the most famous characte rs in E nglis h lite ratu re. Th e su gg estion that Mr P ic kwic k mi gh t die in Hanwell, that is in the asylum, seems to b e totally unt hin kable. Y et Mr P ic kwic k, fo r all h is chee rfulness, is not free from ot her feelin gs. A s evidenced in the chapte rs dealin g wit h h is expe rience in the Fleet, h e actually b ecomes dep ressed b y the foul prison life. I n orde r to su rv ive there and not b ecome co rr upt as ot her prisone rs h ave, Mr P ic kwic k consciously escapes from prison-life mentally, whic h is treated as t he definiti ve act of wit hdrawal [ Mille r 1958: 30 ]. N ot only does h e r et reat to h is cell and then r efuses any contact wit h the prison en vironment, b ut h e also, b y necessity, wit hdraws emotionally. D ic kens int rodu- ces the idea of dou ble imp risonment, or prison wit hin prison: Th e psyc holo gical imp risonment, shuttin g oneself in one s wo rld of mo rals, is the only way to defend oneself from the lite ral imp risonment and its influence [K ujaws ka- Lis 2004: 135 ]. Had Mr P ic kwic k b een una ble to protect h imself in this way, h ad h is fait h in h umanity been not g enuine, h e mi gh t h ave ended up in Hanwell. Ch este rton shows a diffe rent face of dep ression and self-imp risonment. While Mr Pic kwic k is on the whole chee rful and g ets dep ressed b y pa rticula rly in humane ci r- cumstances, S ir A aron Ar mst ron g is actually pe rmanently dep ressed and only ta kes up a pose as a chee rful man. Th us what was a v irtue of the D ic kensian characte r, leads to the doom of the Ch este rtonian one b ecause it is false. Th e pu blic mas k of chee rfulness does not allow S ir A aron Ar mst ron g to fully exp ress h is emotions, fea rs and dou bts 114 Ewa Kujawska- Li s
and so h e r eso rts to alco hol whic h only exace rb ates them and facilitates h is ne rv ous br ea kdown. Ch aracte ristically, Ch este rton also provides this characte r wit h a tellin g name, whic h points to h is dou ble identity. Ar mst ron g explicitly su gg ests a st ron g pe rsonality, whereas this characte r s st ren gth is evidenced only as the fa ke pu blic identity. I n fact, he is q uite the r everse h is true identity can b e only r efe rr ed to wit h the antonym of his su rname, i.e. wea k. A lso h is fi rst name is somew hat indicati ve of this dou ble identity. Th e B iblical A aron, the br ot her of Moses, pe rfo rmed mi racles j ust li ke S ir Aaron in h is pu blic life. N evertheless, it was A aron who sinned against h is G od b y wo rshippin g a g olden calf, thus h e was b ot h the h igh est priest and the condemned sinne r. Th e phr ase t he House of A aron h as b ecome synonymous wit h the priest s house. Ch este rtonian A aron h as created h is own r eli gion, t he R eli gion of Ch ee rful- ness , of whic h h e was the un beata ble h igh est priest. B ut, as F at her Br own explains, behind that me rr y mas k was the empty mind of the at heist [ The Three Tools of Death , 160 ]. S ir A aron Ar mst ron g did not b elie ve in h is own r eli gion, h ence h is two irr econcila ble identities. Th e tension b etween them drove h im to ta ke h is own life. If in the previously discussed sto ries the dou ble identity is only h inted at, there are also those in whic h the na rr ati ve in vol ves theat rical pe rfo rmances or q uasi-pe rfo rman- ces, du rin g whic h characte rs ta ke up v arious identities in orde r to commit the crime. I n The Strange Crime of John Boulnois b ot h types of presentations are evident. Th e eponymous crime pi vots on Jo hn B oulnois s q uasi-pe rfo rmance. Ch oosin g h is privacy rat her than k eepin g h is appointment wit h C al houn K idd, a j ou rnalist, Jo hn B oulnois ta kes up a false identity of h is own b utle r. Th us h e successfully disposes of the inte rv iewe r in orde r to spend an evenin g wit h h is b oo k. Th e act of pretendin g to b e someone else is treated as a crime b ecause it is pu rposeful, yet F at her Br own shows h is full unde rstandin g: I k now it was a st ran ge crime [ ] Y ou r crime is committed b y every fas hiona ble h ostess six times a wee k . N evertheless, the priest is intent on the philosop her s confession as this is the only way to show one s r egr et: Th e little sins are sometimes h arde r to confess than the b ig ones b ut that s why it s so impo rtant to confess them [ The Strange Crime of John Boulnois , 112 ]. Th e mo re se rious crime, the true crime in the sto ry, is that of Jo hns anta gonist, Sir C laude Ch ampion. He commits suicide, b ut b efo re h is deat h h e accuses Jo hn Boulnois of mu rde rin g h im: Boulnois . . . wit h my own swo rd . . . h e thr ew it . . . [The Strange Crime of John Boulnois , 107 ]. I n this case Ch este rton r eso rts to a diffe- rent way of int roducin g the r ecu rr in g motif. I t is an explicitly assumed identity in a t heat rical pe rfo rmance. Th ere is also an inte rnal flaw in vol ved it is S ir Ch ampion s hat red of Jo hn B oulnois that pus hes h im to set a trap fo r h is fo rme r friend ; ne verthe- less, it is the play that ma kes the cunnin g plan possi ble. I n P end ragon P ark , an open-ai r show of Romeo and Juliet is to b e pe rfo rmed, wit h S ir C laude Ch ampion playin g Romeo and Mrs B oulnois, a professional act ress, playin g Juliet. Th e choice of the play is, of cou rse, not accidental. S ir Ch ampion desi res to b e Mrs B oulnois s lo ver; thou gh whet her h e truly lo ves h er is q uestiona ble. P erh aps h is sole moti vation is en vy r at her than affection. Th ou gh r ic h and popula r, h e seems to b e deeply un happy and is intent G.K. Chestertons Games with Identities 115 on dest royin g Jo hn B oulnois s life and ma rr ia ge. Th us h e unsuccessfully attempts to win Mrs B oulnois s affection b y expensi ve g ifts and flowe rs, yet she r emains fait hful to h er r elati vely poo r h us band. F inally, maddened b y h is h at red h e decides to k ill himself du rin g the sta gin g of Romeo and Juliet only to accuse Jo hn of the mu rde r1. Becomin g R omeo is the only way fo r S ir Ch ampion to fulfil h is desi res. A t least fo r one moment h e can b ecome the lo ver of a woman h e obsessi vely wants. I n h is sto ry, Ch este rton r everses the situation of R omeo and Juliet. Sh akespea re shows a t ra- gedy of two people g enuinely in lo ve who die b ecause of misunde rstandin g. I n Ch e- ste rton s sto ry the true lo ve of the B oulnoises su rv ives and none of the true lo vers g ets hurt. Th e original R omeo poisons h imself b ecause h e b elie ves h is b elo ved to b e dead, and it is Juliet who k ills h erself wit h a da gg er, again moti vated b y gr ief over the deat h of h er b elo ved. I n the sto ry, it is the false R omeo who commits suicide b y sta bb in g himself to deat h and, of cou rse, h is moti vation is q uite diffe rent. Th us every element of the inte rtextual r efe rence is r eversed ; the play sta ged in P end ragon P ark is the antit hesis of the original mixtu re of lo ve and tragedy. Th e tragedy that Ch este rton po rtrays is one in whic h a pe rson s life is driven b y uncont rolla ble h at red of anot her human b ein g obv iously a sin. Th e conse quences, consistent wit h C at holic doct rine, are predicta ble. Th e sinne r is punis hed ; the innocent ones are sa ved. Ch este rton again toys wit h the r eade r b y givin g h is characte r a tellin g name. S ir Ch ampion is fa r from b ein g v icto rious. He is the only lose r since not only is h e una ble to win the affection of Mrs B oulnois, b ut h e also ta kes h is own life in v ain b ecause h is attempt to inc riminate Jo hn is totally unsuccessful. Ch este rton shows h ere some of the T en C ommandments at wo rk . Th e most pronounced one is, of cou rse, the tent h: Th ou shall not co vet thy nei ghb ou r s wife ; b ut also the ei gh th: Th ou shall not b ea r false witness against thy nei ghb ou r . Alt hou gh the B iblical nei ghb ou r is metap horical, em br acin g all people, Ch este rton presents a sin gula rly lite ral inte rpretation of it. Eq ually impo rtant is the fift h com- mandment: Th ou shall not k ill : in R oman C at holic creed suicide is treated as a fo rm of mu rde r. F or all these sins S ir Ch ampion must b e punis hed. P aradoxically, what r uins his plan is the mino r sin of lyin g, i.e. impe rsonatin g a b utle r b y Jo hn B oulnois, whic h reflects the sin of S ir Ch ampion, yet on a smalle r scale. Ch este rton presents an attitude towa rd sinne rs exe rcised b y C at holicism. Jo hn B oulnois lies and assumes a false identity b ecause h e needs some peace of mind. He truly r epents this and so F at her Br own, h avin g listened to h is confession, says: I shan t inflict any penance [ The Strange Crime of John Boulnois , 112 ]. S ir Ch ampion, on the cont rary, h as no chance to confess h is sins, and h is final wo rds are those of slande r. Th us there is no sa vin g gr ace fo r h im. Ch este rton pinpoints yet anot her issue, that is, the fact that identifica-
1 S ir Ch ampion and h is actions are compa red to those of Ha roun A lrasc hid of The Arabian Nights (as r efe rs showin g off h is wealt h to win Mrs B oulnois s attention) and the B iblical Haman (wit h r efe rence to h is h at red of Jo hn B oulnois). A mo re extensi ve analysis of these inte rtextual r efe rences and r ela- tions hips is to b e found in my article Translation of Biblical References in Literary and Non -literary Te xts , pu blis hed in A cta N eop hilolo gica in 2008. 116 Ewa Kujawska- Li s
tion wit h a g iven r eli gion does not automatically ma ke one a v irtuous pe rson. Upon the fa ke R omeo s deat h it is pronounced that a priest must b e fetc hed b ecause All these Ch ampions are papists [ The Strange Crime of John Boulnois , 108 ]. Y et as F at her Br own emp hasises Any body can b e wic ked as wic ked as h e chooses [ The Strange Crime of John Boulnois , 109 ] so it does not matte r whic h r eli gion one follows. What matte rs is that We can di rect ou r mo ral wills [ The Strange Crime of John Boulnois , 109 ], that is, the h uman b ein g is endowed wit h free will and this can b ecome ou r b est friend or wo rst enemy. Th e motif of identity is also connected in Ch este rton s sto ries wit h the notion of in visi bility. Th e aut hor is pa rticula rly inte rested in the ability of a h uman b ein g to b e in visi ble to ot hers while b ein g in thei r presence, whic h often stems from a pre-esta blis hed ste reotypical cate gorisation of men. Th e two sto ries whic h in vesti gate the motif of in visi bility wit hin the v isually accessi ble are: The Invisible Man and The Q ueer Feet . Th e evocati ve title of the fo rme r draws the r eade rs attention to it. Ch este rton shows h ow people may b e decei ved b y appea rances. F ou r people, g ua rdin g the ent rance to the b uildin g: the chestnut selle r, the policeman, the commissione r and the man in shirt slee ves, all swea r that they did not see any body ente r or lea ve the b uildin g. Y et the mu rde r h as b een committed and, even wo rse, the b ody of the v ictim h as disappea red. Lau ra Hope swea rs she is h aunted b y the v oice of a man she h as r efused to ma rr y; yet, she h as ne ver seen h im around since the day she r efused h im. Th ere seems to b e some supe rnatu ral powe r in vol ved. Y et, F at her Br own, wit h h is typical simplicity, proves that all of these people are misled and b linded b y thei r own ste reotypical thin kin g. Th e fact is that we do not notice ot hers who are pe rh aps infe rio r to us, as exemplified b y a sto ry h e tells to ma ke h is point: Suppose one lady says to anot her in a count ry h ouse, I s any body stayin g wit h you ? the lady doesn t answe r Y es ; the b utle r, the thr ee footmen, the pa rlou rmaid, and so on, thou gh the pa rlou rmaid may b e in the r oom, or the b utle r b ehind h er chai r. Sh e says Th ere is no body stayin g wit h us, meanin g no body of the so rt you mean. B ut suppose a docto r in qui rin g into an epidemic as ks, Who is stayin g in the h ouse ? then the lady will r emem ber the b utle r, the pa rlou rmaid, and the r est [ The Invisible Man , 68 ]. Fat her Br own analyses this situation in te rms of h uman communication. P eople tend to provide the answe r whic h is expected of them: All lan gua ge is used li ke that ; you ne ver g et a q uestion answe red lite rally, even when you g et it answe red truly [ The Invisible Man , 68 ]. Y et at the same time, it is clea r that fo r some r ep resentati ves of society ot hers are as if non-existent. Th ey are unnoticea ble b ecause they are uno btrusi ve: they fit where they should. Th us a lady does not notice the presence of h er se rv ants if they do what they are supposed to do ; the fou r watc hers and Miss Hope do not notice the presence of a postman b ecause appa rently h e only does h is j ob. Ev en the policeman is decei ved as easily as the ot hers, alt hou gh h e states emp hatically that h e had h ad expe rience of croo ks of all k inds, in top h ats and in r ags; h e wasn t so gr een as to expect suspicious characte rs to loo k suspicious ; h e loo ked out fo r any body, and, so h elp h im, there h ad b een no body [ The Invisible Man , 65 66 ]. A h uman b ein g cannot b e in visi ble ; if h e is, it is only b ecause ot hers do not ta ke notice of h im. Th us, G.K. Chestertons Games with Identities 117 the mo ral seems to b e that everyone counts ; the appea rances are misleadin g. Th e mu rde rer ta kes ad vanta ge of this cate gorisation of people into impo rtant, i.e. v isi ble, and less impo rtant, i.e. in visi ble, and assumes the identity of a postman in orde r to haunt h is b elo ved as well as to dest roy h is r ival. Th e same motif is used as a tool to commit a crime in The Q ueer Feet . Th e thief assumes two diffe rent identities simultaneously: that of a waite r and that of a g entle- man. What ma kes it possi ble is the simila r evenin g dress of g entlemen and the profes- sional outfit of waite rs. Th e outwa rd appea rance is the same so the thief is in visi ble as suc h to the g entlemen when h e pretends to b e a waite r, and h is true identity r emains in visi ble to the waite rs when h e impe rsonates a g entleman. Th e diffe rence lies in the manne r of wal kin g and in the b ehaviou r of the two social gr oups: g entlemen wal k slowly and wit h the ai r of self-assu redness, whereas waite rs r un q uic kly in a su bse r- vient postu re. Th us the thief, while k eepin g the same appea rance, chan ges the manne r of mo vement and this is sufficient to mislead ot hers. He creates in visi bility wit hin visi bility and proves h ow insi gnificant, appa rently, is the diffe rence b etween v arious social gr oups [K ujaws ka- Lis 2007: 243 244 ]. N atu rally, the social distance b etween the two desc ribed gr oups is v ast ; ne vertheless, Ch este rton again ma kes r eade rs awa re of the misleadin g pat h of ste reotypical thin kin g. I f a waite r can b e mista ken fo r a gen- tleman, then one needs to loo k b eyond appea rance to plum b the true meanin g of thin gs. A ny fo rm of supe rficiality leads to self-deception. Ch este rton s g ames wit h diffe rent identities is fa r from monotonous. A criminal rarely ente rs a scene explicitly pronouncin g h imself to b e an assassin, a thief or a swin- dle r. D etecti ve fiction seems to necessitate the assumption of some identity to co ver the true identity of the wron gdoe r; yet in Ch este rton s sto ries the play wit h identities is not only necessitated b y the g en re con ventions b ut also proves amusin g and int riguin g. Mo reo ver, there is always some mo ral teac hin g to b e mined. Th e write r uses diffe rent le vels at whic h the chan ges ta ke place and thei r v arious fo rms. Th e transition can r efe r to one characte r in a sin gle sto ry, or it may in vol ve the metamo rphosis of the characte r wit hin the cycle (Flam beau, V alentin). I t r efe rs to assumin g a false identity in orde r to commit a crime, or shows the duality of h uman natu re where the supp ressed, h idden identity finally su rfaces. Th ere seems to b e a patte rn where those characte rs who h ide thei r true sel ves are g ene rally driven to suicide or provoked suicide (Pauline S tacey, Sir A aron Ar mst ron g, S ir C laude Ch ampion) as if they are b ein g punis hed fo r li vin g a life of lies. B ein g true to oneself, acceptin g one s failin gs on equal te rms wit h one s successes, seems to b e one of the teac hin gs that pe rmeate the sto ries. Th e models of the fictional wo rld created in the sto ries, and in the cycle as suc h, rest on the essential duality of the h uman b ein g encompassin g b ot h g ood and evil. A ny pe rson is capa ble of misconduct and then h e assumes the evil pe rsonality , or at least he allows its pe rfo rmance. Ev en a wron gdoe r is capa ble of g oodness ; yet, the essential element in the con version is, of cou rse, r epentance. A ny ste reotypical evaluation of a human b ein g leads one ast ray. A n optimist may in fact b e suicidal, a thief may become a detecti ve, a policeman may tu rn into a mu rde rer, a r eli gious leade r may in trut h b e a swindle r, and a pa ragon of independence may b e totally emotionally and physically h andicapped. N ot hin g is as it seems to b e. 118 Ewa Kujawska- Li s
B iblio gra ph y
Ch este rton, G .K. (1911 ; 2001). The Innocence of Father Brown . USA : Q uiet V ision P ublis hin g. Ch este rton, G .K. (1914 ; 2001). The Wisdom of Father Brown . USA : Q uiet V ision P ublis hin g. Kujaws ka- Lis, E . (2004). A Tale of Two Visions. The Individual and Victorian Public Institutions in the Novels of Charles Dickens . Olsztyn: Wydawnictwo UWM. Kujaws ka- Lis, E . (2007). Translators Nightmare: G.K. Chestertons The Q ueer Feet and its Cultural References . I n: A . B laim, J. K okot (ed.) Te xts in /of Te xts . L ublin: Ma ria Sk³ odows ka- -Curie Uni versity Pr ess. Mille r, J.H. (1958). Charles Dickens. The World of His Novels . Cam br id ge, Massac husetts: Ha r- vard Uni versity Pr ess.
Su mm ary
G.K. Ch este rton s G ames wit h I dentities
Gil bert K eit h Ch este rton, the aut hor of, amon gst ot hers, the F at her Br own detecti ve sto ries is gene rally analysed, wit h some exceptions, b y P olis h criticism in te rms of ideolo gy and C at holi- cism. His lite rary tec hni que is treated wit h less attention, thou gh h is artistic output as suc h is pe rh aps v alued even mo re in P oland than in E ngland. Th is article attempts to fill in the g ap b y examinin g the ways in whic h Ch este rton st ructu res some of h is sto ries and the way h e int roduces and inse rts elements of C at holic doct rine into them. Th is article in vesti gates the r ecu rr in g motif of various identities fo r the same characte r b ot h in selected sto ries and wit hin the framewo rk of the whole F at her Br own cycle. Ch este rton s characte rs epitomise the dic hotomy of h uman natu re: one and the same characte r may transition from an h onest pe rson into a criminal and v ice v ersa. Th e aut hor also shows the implications of leadin g a dou ble life and, of cou rse, employs the notion of a dou ble identity as a v ehicle fo r committin g a crime.